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To national audiences, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute is known as an influential education-policy think tank with a two-decades-long commitment to reforming elementary and secondary schools, particularly through the combination of higher standards and greater parental choice.

In Dayton, Ohio, however, our roots go deeper. Here, local leaders may know that Thomas B. Fordham was a prominent industrialist in the 1930s and 40s—the onetime head of GM’s Frigidaire division and a successful supplier of essential wartime materiel. They may also know that the Fordham Foundation—created by Fordham’s widow, Thelma Fordham Pruett, in 1959—made grants to support good works in Dayton and vicinity for almost four decades, until her passing in 1996.

In 1997, the trustees of the Fordham Foundation re-launched the organization with a focus on school reform, both nationally and in Dayton. Over the past seventeen years, our work in the Gem City has centered on expanding education options for disadvantaged children. We played a central role in launching Parents Advancing Choice in Education (PACE), which spearheaded private-school choice for Dayton families and we have made many grants to education-related organizations. In 2005, we became a charter-school sponsor (aka “authorizer”). Our sponsorship operation, based in Dayton, today serves over 3,200 students in eleven schools statewide, including DECA Prep and Dayton Leadership Academies.

Our work in Dayton focuses on three areas: sponsoring charter schools, standards reviews for high poverty schools, and philanthropy.

Opening a Charter School in Dayton

We know from our own analyses of state reported student outcomes that there are too many underperforming schools serving high poverty students in Dayton. One of our priorities is to recruit high performing charter schools and networks to the city. Schools and/or networks interested in opening in Dayton under Fordham’s sponsorship can view our sponsorship application here, and should contact Kathryn Mullen Upton at 937-227-3368 to learn more.

Thomas B. Fordham Foundation Philanthropy

Overview

The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation has been involved in philanthropic work since 1959, through our support of educational institutions and education-related work. We believe our great nation needs, and deserves, great schools for all its children. We are committed to promoting educational excellence for every child in America through producing quality research, analysis, advocacy and charter school authorizing in Ohio. We further hope to support education-based work and organizations in the Dayton area, and beyond, by providing grant opportunities.

This page provides information for interested grant applicants. If you are seeking funding from The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation please see the documents and information below that provide additional detail. Please feel free to contact our Dayton office at (937) 227-3368 with any questions you may have.

To be eligible for funding, your organization must meet the following criteria:

The organization provides educational programs.

The organization is recognized as a tax-exempt 501 (c)(3) non-profit.

The organization is located in the Dayton-city area; and/or

The organization is located in Ohio, United States.

Grant funding will be awarded to those non-profit organizations and/or programs that are involved in education-based work, and promote educational excellence for children in the area. Organizations/programs that are eligible for grant funding will involve innovative, creative, high-quality programming, and those seeking to narrow the achievement gap. The grant award process will be completed in 2 cycles. Interested applicants will have 2 deadlines to submit applications. If you miss the first application deadline, you will have another opportunity to submit a grant application.

If you are interested in submitting a grant application, please email Marwa Berri at [email protected]. You will then be provided a login code, for your application, to be completed via EpiCenter (online application management system). Further instructions will be made available upon login.